Car insurance when something's already pushed your rate up.

An accident, a ticket, poor credit or a DUI don't change what car insurance is, they change what it costs, and insurers don't all react the same way. This page is the starting point for shopping around instead of accepting the first renewal number.

The gap between insurers tends to widen, not narrow, once one of these factors is in play. A carrier that's competitive for a clean-record driver isn't necessarily competitive for someone with a recent claim, since each company weighs risk factors differently in its own rating plan. That's exactly the kind of gap a single "average rate" headline hides, and exactly what the pages below are built to show instead.

Rates by situation.

After an at-fault accident

The steepest single surcharge in most rating plans, but insurers don't all apply it the same way.

After a speeding ticket

A smaller bump than an accident or a DUI, still worth shopping around for.

With poor credit

One of the widest insurer-to-insurer gaps on the whole rate table.

Young drivers

Inexperience, not recklessness, is what drives this bracket's cost.

Background reading.

What an SR-22 actually is

A filing your insurer submits, not a separate kind of policy.

How a DUI affects your car insurance

The conviction and the surcharge run on two different clocks.

How to lower your rate

What actually moves the number once you're past the surcharge.

Not sure which applies to you

Run your own bracket through the calculator and adjust credit tier or driving record directly.

Open the calculator →
About us

Why we built a rate spread tool instead of another quote form.

Read the longer version on the About page, or the line-by-line breakdown on Methodology. Questions or something look wrong? Get in touch.